


In The Year Of The Wolf

by Luxie



Series: In The Year Of The Wolf [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Iwatobi Territory, M/M, Marinka - Freeform, Pack Feels, The trio being stupidly in love, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2403284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxie/pseuds/Luxie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>To everyone's surprise stoic, in-control Haruka is the first in their class to present.<br/>Unsurprisingly, however, Haruka presents as an omega.<br/>They're twelve years old and even though it's an unusually young age to present in it's not unheard of. There are a few mean whispers and quite a few rude remarks from their class mates, but Makoto quiets them all with a stare. He reaches for Haruka's muzzle with a steady hand and doesn't pull away when a panicky Haru snaps his sharp teeth at him.<br/>“It's okay, Haru-chan.” Makoto soothes. “You're okay. I've got you.”</p><p>This stands as unfinished because I'll be adding a few one-shots to it. The story in itself is complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

To everyone's surprise stoic, in-control Haruka is the first in their class to present.

Unsurprisingly, however, Haruka presents as an omega.

They're twelve years old and even though it's an unusually young age to present in it's not unheard of. There are a few mean whispers and quite a few rude remarks from their class mates, but Makoto quiets them all with a stare. He reaches for Haruka's muzzle with a steady hand and doesn't pull away when a panicky Haru snaps his sharp teeth at him.

“It's okay, Haru-chan.” Makoto soothes. “You're okay. I've got you.”

Slowly Haruka changes back, black fur slipping away to leave Haru naked on the floor. Makoto quickly shields him with his body, his back to the rest of the class, while he wraps his jacket over Haru's shoulders. None of Haru's clothes are salvageable so Makoto takes the jammers from his sports bag, letting Haru dress himself while he continues to shield Haru from the stares of their class mates.

When Haru is dressed Makoto hoists his shaking friend off the floor and with their teacher's permission he supports Haru's weight as they walk in silence to the nurse's office. On the way there Haru stops shaking, but tremors still run through his overheated body when Makoto moves his hands too gently over Haru's skin to get a better hold.

“Sorry.” Makoto breathes, but there's no response from Haru.

Makoto can't help thinking how Haru managed to hide his blossoming hormones behind all his self-control, even from Makoto.

The nurse checks Haru over and registers him as an adult omega of the Iwatobi territory. While she takes her tests and asks her questions Haru keeps his eyes locked on the floor. He doesn't meet Makoto's eyes a single time, not even when Makoto helps him get the jacket back on.

“Let me take you home, Haru-chan.” Makoto says softly, half expecting Haru to turn him down, but Haru just nods. Makoto guides Haru's arm over his shoulder and puts an arm around Haru's waist to support him as they start the long walk home. He doesn't comment on how Haruka clings to him, knows Haru must be terrified right now. Instead he starts going over their assignment for next week, talking about Nagisa's lunch today and Rin's new idea about forming a relay team.

Haruka closes his eyes and lets Makoto lead him.

**********

A few weeks later Rin presents, too. Makoto goes with Haru and Nagisa to his house after school, but they are stopped in the door by Rin's mother.

“I'm sorry boys,” she says, voice unsteady and eyes watery. "I can't let you see him."

"Rin-chan presented as an alpha?" Nagisa asks, face full of awe. 

Makoto feels his stomach drop. Two months ago Alpha Mikoshiba's son had presented and that was the first time someone had presented as alpha while Makoto was old enough to understand what was going on. It had seemed unfair and cruel that Alpha Mikoshiba had simply sent his own son away, but Makoto's parents had explained that it was necessary. If young Mikoshiba had been allowed to stay in Iwatobi some young ones would have bound themselves to him and the pack would have been split and families torn apart. As long as Alpha Mikoshiba is in his best years he will defend his territory and after that his son will most likely return from his exile to claim it. There just isn't room for Rin here. 

 Haru is blank as always, but there's a hardness in his blue eyes.

That night there is a knock on Makoto's window and he nudges Haru awake before letting Rin inside.

"I knew I'd find you here." Rin says smiling to Haru. He's wearing a black t-shirt and lose track pants, cheeks burning with the same heat Makoto remembers from Haruka's skin after he presented.

“What are you going to do?” Makoto asks, because he knows Haruka wants to know, but won't ask.

They all know that life in the secluded, rural mountains is a constant struggle to survive, fighting other alphas, strengthening their self-control and seeking inner peace. Only the strongest and most suited alphas survive to claim a territory one day.

“I'm going to Australia.” Rin says, surprising them both. “There's a shaman there who's willing to train me. My dad had some contacts there before he died. It'll be fine.”

“That's so far away.” Makoto says, feeling like the air has been knocked out of him.

 

***************

Time passes and Makoto still hasn't presented.

“I wouldn't worry just yet.” Alpha Mikoshiba tells a young Makoto, hand gently lifting Makoto's chin. “But if I remember correctly you were good friends with young Matsuoka."

It takes a while for Makoto to understand the implication of Alpha Mikoshiba's words and then a sudden tight feeling in his chest makes it hard to breathe. There are a few other kids in the territory who hasn't presented yet, even thought they are all clearly well into their puberty and some people are beginning to whisper, because the kids had all been close friends with young Mikoshiba. Makoto knows you can only present to the alpha you've bound yourself to, so if they had bound themselves to the young alpha before he had been sent away it means they can't present until he returns. If he dies out in the mountains they will never present.

If Makoto had bound himself to Rin it would be the same for him. 

“We can't control who our wolf binds itself to," Alpha Mikoshiba says, giving Makoto a sad smile. "Which is why we try to send the young alphas away as quickly as possible. Sometimes it just isn't fast enough."

"Are you going to send me away, too?" Makoto blurts out, a sudden rush of panic making him dizzy.

Alpha Mikoshiba tilts his head. "You have friends here? Family?”

Makoto nods silently, heart pounding frantically. His hands are clenched in his lap so hard he thinks his nails might break skin.

“Then I'll expect you to be loyal to their Alpha, even if I'm not yours.” Alpha Mikoshiba ends and Makoto nods again, relief washing over him like rain on a scorching summer's day.

***************

Not having presented doesn't mean much for Makoto's physical development. He slips into an uncomplicated puberty and an uncontrolled growth spurt later on.

In the beginning it's hard to see his friends find their footing and their sexuality, start courting and flirting. Makoto doesn't have the drive for any of that so instead he focuses on his studies and his swimming. He focuses on his friendship with Haru, who despite having presented seems as uninterested in sex as Makoto is.

It's not until he's fifteen that Makoto starts _aching_.

It starts as a dull burn in his muscles and at first he thinks he might have overdone it on his training. When the fire moves to his chest he becomes scared.

“It's not easy being a latent.” The doctor tells him, pressing a stethoscope to Makoto's chest. “But there isn't much I can do for you. Like I told the others, you can either live with the discomfort or seek out your true alpha.”

Makoto winches at the word `discomfort´, but nods all the same. He knows he won't leave. Won't leave Haru, won't leave his family. Not that he has any idea where to start looking for Rin.

“If we had known young Matsuoka would present as an alpha we would never have let you get so attached.” His mother says one night, caressing Makoto's fever-hot cheek. It's a small comfort, Makoto thinks as he shakes from the physical strain of still not having presented, still not being able to be who he's supposed to be.

People around town still whisper behind his back, mostly young people who haven't seen latents before, unlike their parents. The other latents form their own pack within the pack, but Makoto wouldn't feel right joining them. He isn't waiting for Mikoshiba Seijuurou to return.

Luckily Makoto has Haru, who's omega nature means he is secluded by design and prefers not to mingle. Especially not with people who dares to pass judgment on Makoto.

Some nights Haru stays with Makoto, curled over him in his black wolf form, soothing him through his tremors. On those nights Makoto is afraid that he'll never present, that he'll have to live with this burning ache inside for the rest of his life. But he's even more scared of the day where Rin will waltz back into their lives and Makoto will present and have to leave Haru behind.

He tells Haru as much, even though he probably shouldn't, but Haru doesn't seem too bothered.

"Don't worry about that.” Haru simply says.

"But Haru-"

"Rin is probably never coming back, so it won't matter who we belong to anyway." 

 _Who do you belong to?_ Makoto thinks. Omegas are contradictions, both loners and the glue that holds a pack together. Some seem confused or indifferent to social interactions that comes naturally to the rest of the pack, which is why they are so good at breaking any tension and clearing bad blood between pack members. Makoto can't recall the last time Haru tried to be a part of the Iwatobi pack. Mostly he sticks to Makoto's side, which never seemed odd, given that they had been friends since before Makoto remembers, but now that Makoto knows he is in Rin's pack, it suddenly makes sense that Haru is, too. Actually it would make no sense if Haru doesn't belong to Rin.

But Rin is gone and Haru is left here with Makoto as a sad excuse for a pack. Makoto who can't present, who hadn't even realised they were a pack, because he can't feel the pack bond. 

 

**************

Alpha Mikoshiba passes away far too young and when Seijuurou is called home he seems neither willing nor ready to be there. It takes some adjusting on all parts, weeks and weeks of subjugation and scent-marking before the majority of the territory accepts him as their new alpha. Some people move away, unable or unwilling to bind themselves to Seijuurou, but for the most part the transition is clean and with little blood spilled. They're lucky that Mikoshiba's son had presented as Alpha as well. It's always easier to rebind yourself when the familiarity in scent is that strong.

The rest of the latents finally presents, rubbing against Seijuurou in their wolf forms and howling their joy at being united with their true alpha.

Makoto watches from the side with his family and Haruka.

Haru's family had kissed him goodbye four days ago and left for Tokyo, the only city left for those who wanted to live with out an alpha. When the pain becomes too much for Haru to handle he transforms and wraps his large form around Makoto's legs. Makoto kneels down and buries his face in Haruka's fur, breathing him in.

*************

Makoto knows Rin is back in town before he even sees him.

Presenting for the first time might be painful - nausea, fever and sometimes cramps as your body shifts for the first time -until you find a steady level of hormones, find a balance.

For Makoto it's pure relief.

*************

It's Nagisa who suggests the plan.

“If Rin-chan really is back then he'll be needing a place to hide.” Nagisa whispers as if they are conspiring and maybe they are, going looking for a rogue alpha in an abandoned swim club in the middle of the night. Makoto isn't sure how much trouble they'd be in if they're caught, but he's pretty sure Nagisa is skittering close to disobedience, looking for an alpha that's not his own.

“It sure must feel good to finally get in contact with your wolf, Mako-chan.” Nagisa chatters on, as they wander the dark halls of the swim club. “I thought you'd be beautiful, but I never thought you'd be so _big_ :”

Makoto tries to smile, but he is too high-strung. Not just because he hates dark places, but also because his spiking hormones are still messing with his emotions and the thought of seeing Rin again is fraying his human nerves.  Changing into his wolf form would dampen his emotions, but Makoto knows he can't risk it, not after the way his wolf had reacted to Nagisa earlier. It had probably only been the fact that he knew Nagisa so well that had kept Makoto from attaching, because Makoto's new instincts had told him that Nagisa definitely wasn't pack.

He's not sure if that means he will never be able to see Nagisa's wolf form again, but he hopes one day he'll be in enough control for it to work, because Nagisa's wolf is beautiful, slender and fast with fur like honey that looks gold in the sunlight. 

“So you came.” A voice says, making Makoto jump and cling to Haru. Then Makoto's mind catches up to what his body is already painfully aware of and the initial shock is replaced by something achingly familiar, like want and joy and a feeling of home.

“Rin.” Haru says, voice even and careful, but if he's feeling anything remotely like what Makoto is feeling right now his insides must be liquid fire.

“You came back.” Makoto points out stupidly.

“I called him back.” Mikoshiba Seijuurou says, slipping out of the shadows behind Rin.

“Alpha Mikoshiba!” Makoto chokes out, hand reaching for Haru's wrist, ready to pull him back, pull him out of harms way if there is any sign of danger. Haru allows the grip, but doesn't move back.

“Nagisa!” Alpha Mikoshiba says forcefully and Nagisa whimpers behind them, but then Mikoshiba's face splits into a wide smile. “You look like frightened school boys. But we're all adults here. _Finally_.” He adds happily and slaps Rin's shoulder. Rin jumps slightly, apparently not expecting the touch. Makoto isn't an expert, but he's pretty sure friendly physical contact is highly uncommon between rivalling alphas. The fact that the two are even able to stay this close in a confined space is unnerving.

Mikoshiba continues, voice surprisingly soft. “When I came back I had to fight to force people to submit to me, but the hardest fight was against myself. When I was with the monks in the mountains I dreamed of the kind of alpha I would be, the kind of pack I would build. I didn't want a pack that didn't want me.”

“That's why you let people leave.” Haru says calmly, but there's a sadness there, a sadness for the loss of his parents. At least they were allowed to live.

Mikoshiba nods. “I was at a loss for what to do about you two, though. I suppose I could have forced Nanase to submit to my pack,but Tachibana would always be left in a void.”

Makoto swallows. It isn't so long ago that he's forgotten the ache. To live like that for the rest of his life...

“Having Rin back solves your problem, but it adds to mine.” Mikoshiba continues. “I can't have him near the young ones and I'm sure plenty of people will feel anxious having a strange alpha living among them.”

“You want us to leave.” Haru guesses. He looks so ridiculously vulnerable in his defiance.

“If I wanted you to leave I would have kicked you out weeks ago, Nanase.” Mikoshiba says. "No, I want you to stay."

“Why?” Makoto blurts out.

“Maybe I like a good rivalry?” Mikoshiba says, smiling. “To keep me on my toes.”

“That's not how this works.” Rin argues and there's challenge in his body language, enough to make Mikoshiba turn and stare him down. Makoto's grip on Haru's wrist tightens.

“You said you wanted them back, Matsuoka.” Mikoshiba thunders. “This is the price.”

Rin snarls, lips pulling back to reveal sharp teeth, but Mikoshiba doesn't give an inch.

“This is the price.” Mikoshiba repeats and Rin is forced to back down, a low growl lingering in the back of his throat.

***********

Makoto is running, big paws digging into wet sand as the shoreline rushes by on his left. His muscles are working under his skin, under his fur and he doesn't think he's ever felt this good before.

Haru and Rin are both faster than him, Haru's smaller body and Rin's impressive power giving them an edge over Makoto's raw strength, but they aren't leaving him behind. Haru snaps playfully at his flank and Makoto snorts and speeds up, bumping against Haru with his shoulder as the black wolf tries to pass him.

Rin is on Haru's other side, seemingly pleased to watch as the two childhood friends interact. His fur is the color of his hair, but slightly darker, making him a point of visual attraction to anyone watching. Rin could be the color of sand, for all Makoto cares and he knows Haru feels the same. Even as they're egging each other on part of their attention is always on their alpha, for no other reason than the fact that Rin is theirs and they are his.

Makoto looks over just in time to see a twinkle of something playful in Rin's red eyes before the alpha tackles them both and the three of them roll around in the soft sand.

Rin play-fights them both, snapping at their ears and growling when they try to gang up on him. Haru allows himself to be pushed down, leaning his head back to allow Rin access to the expanse of his vulnerable throat. Maybe it's a sullen kind of surrender, but it's easy and instant.

Makoto doesn't go down as easily. It's not that he wants to deny Rin his right to dominate him, but his instinct tells him that Rin has to work for it. As a result Rin uses more force than he'd need to when he finally wrestle Makoto to his back.

Rin's sharp teeth doesn't break skin, but they'll leave bruises on Makoto's human neck later.

Perfectly happy to let Makoto suffer Rin keeps pressure until Makoto starts to whimper in surrender. Haruka, who is watching from the side, lets out a soft whimper in sympathy, but when Rin finally pulls off him he licks Makoto's ear soothingly, before he nudges Makoto back on his paws and the race continues.

**************

Their small pack isn't exactly treated like outcasts, but most people in the Iwatobi territory feel uneasy and anxious around Rin. Makoto can't blame them. Instead he tries to bridge the rippling waters with his smiles and Nagisa and Rin's sister Gou happily acts as intermediaries. Haruka never cared about making friends and Makoto suspects Haru still hasn't forgiven the Iwatobi Pack for the way they treated Makoto before Rin came back.

So mostly the three of them keep to themselves in a large house overlooking the town. Not that any of them mind.

They spend mornings grooming each other in their wolf forms and wrestling in their human forms, because hands are practical and Makoto and Haru have a chance to actually win that way. They spend the days racing the hills towering the town, falling asleep next to a small mountain brook, with fingers interlacing and shoulders touching. They spend afternoons by the beach, in different stages of undressed, Haru drifting in the surface while Makoto and Rin dive for shells. They spent the evenings trying to figure out how far they can push each other, tethering so close to something more, unsure if they're ready to cross that proverbial line, unsure if the other two would allow it. They spend the nights so intertwined that Makoto wonders if the line ever existed.

 *********

Makoto returns one night from his parents, undoubtedly smelling of town and strangers and Mikoshiba, and within the space of a few seconds Makoto is pressed against the floor with Rin straddling him, murmurs of _“Wrong, wrong, wrong_ ” making Makoto's breath hitch as Rin's hot breath on his skin is replaced by lips and teeth and tongue. In his human shape Makoto surrenders easily, baring his throat to Rin with a shiver, arms pinned above his head by a single strong hand.

Despite the fact that they are grown males, despite the fact that there's an edge of want to every touch and every smile, they're still dancing around each other. Their touches become more deliberate and their mouths more exploring, but small packs are closer in general and they pass it off as grooming and scenting and a need for security and it is all of that, it really is.

At least that's what Makoto tells himself as Rin continues down Makoto's chest, leaving his own scent wherever his mouth falls. It's enough to drive Makoto close to the edge and he almost begs, but this isn't about what he needs, it's about what Rin needs and he keeps still. Rin doesn't stop until he's satisfied, until Makoto smells like him and nothing else. He leans his forehead against Makoto's heaving chest and Makoto tangles his fingers into Rin's hair and whispers “ _yours_ ,” barely loud enough to be a word.

************

Rin has nightmares. Dark dreams of being a twelve-year old boy alone in a hostile land.

Rin has red fur, red like blood, like a challenge, and he had been fighting for his life more often than not. He had been running injured from alphas much older and stronger than him, resentful adults taking their anger and pain out on a young, lost boy. He had survived by hiding when he was young and by luck as he grew bigger. Rin was smart and fast, but so was his enemies and they never let him lower his guards.

Haru wraps his arms around Rin's shaking body from the back, making Rin flinch as his eyes snap open. As an apology Haru leaves kisses on Rin's neck, tracing the muscles and tendons along Rin's strong shoulders with his mouth until their alpha shows signs of relaxing.

Makoto's hand finds Rin's hip bone, finds scars there that must have taken too long to heal. The thought makes Makoto sad, but mostly angry. He remembers Rin as a child, smiling, mesmerizing and full of passion, and lets out a shaky breath.

Rin turns from his side to his back and Haru snuggles closer, sleepily burying his face in Rin's neck and hair and Rin turns his face to pres a kiss to Haru's temple.

Makoto is happy to lay his head on Rin's chest, ear to his heart so he can listen to the comforting _thump thump thump_. It's the best sound he knows, followed by Haru's rare laughter.

Rin's hand comes up to rest on Makoto's head, fingers digging into his hair and there's a press of lips to his forehead. Haru's hand find his on Rin's chest and they interlace their fingers and drift back into sleep.

************

Where Makoto surrenders easier in his human form than his wolf form the opposite is true of Haru.

Rin may be their alpha, but Haru has never let anyone push him around. He isn't an omega because he's weak and vulnerable, but because he's private and independent.

“I told you,” Haru says calmly, pushing past Rin to get to his closet. “I'm going.”

“And I told you you're not.” Rin thunders back. “Tokyo isn't Iwatobi. Tell me, Haru, how would you even find them?”

“I'll look for them.” Haru shrugs, as if that's the entirety of his plan. Maybe it is.

“Makoto, tell him-”

“Please don't.” Makoto says with a flinch, because Rin is angry and Haru is leaving. Sure it's just a short trip, one Haru has been planning for a while, apparently, even if he hasn't told them. But Tokyo is huge and dangerous and Rin can't follow Haru there, because the entire city is off-limits to alphas. Makoto can't follow him either, because Rin could never handle being with out the both of them.

“You need to stop worrying.” Haru says, but the words are barely out his mouth before Rin is spinning him around and slamming him into the closet.

“Then tell me how!” Rin yells. “Tell me how I can stop worrying?”

Makoto feels robbed of air and maybe that's why his heart is beating so fast, to overcompensate for the lack of oxygen. Haru is wide-eyed, mouth falling open as he stares back at Rin.

“The moment I left here I knew you were mine, the two of you. I felt the loss tear me up like a claw to my chest.” Rin's voice is raw and shaking. “All the times I've been ripped open, bit and left barely alive, none of that hurt as bad as losing the two of you.” Tears are running down his face now and Rin dries them off with the back of his hand, backing away from Haru before he shifts to his wolf form. The wolf feels everything less and hard emotions are translated to simple ones.

Makoto and Haru both stay in their human forms, both needing to use their hands and their words as they assure Rin that they are his and that he will never lose them. Makoto tilts his head back and Rin laps at his throat, turns and pushes Haru down on the floor. Rin tucks his nose into Haru's hair, licks his ear and the side of his neck. He rubs his big head against Haru's chest and ends up sniffing Haru's groin, a final soft lap of his tongue to the sharp hip bone where Haru's pants have slipped low.

Haru keeps still until Rin has calmed down, seemingly satisfied with Haru's surrender. But Haru does end up going to Tokyo and by a miracle he finds his parents there. While he is away Rin doesn't let Makoto out of his sight and the two spend most of their days as wolves to lessen the loss they feel with Haru gone. The nights they spend pressed close, Makoto on his back and Rin chest down on top of him, face tugged into Makoto's neck and his lips pressed to Makoto's pulse.

Makoto wraps both arms around Rin and tells him stories of him and Haru growing up.

************

When Haru returns he stinks of a million things and none of them are his pack, but Rin isn't given the chance to complain, because Haru is pulling Rin's mouth to his own as soon as he can reach him. When Rin's lips finally detach themselves from Haru's it's just to trail to his jaw, to his throat, to his neck and the shell of his ear and there's a low growl in his heavy breathing.

“If you try leaving us again I will stop you.” Rin mutters and Makoto can feel his wolf agreeing.

“You're so dramatic.” Haru says, rolling his eyes, but he's smiling. He trades Rin's arms for Makoto's and Makoto wraps his arms around Haru's shoulders while Haru rests both hands on Makoto's hips.

“I've never been away from you before.” Haru says into the fabric of Makoto's t-shirt. “I hated not having you with me.” He pulls back, just slightly, to turn his face up to Makoto who blinks down at his friend.

Unlike Rin and Haru's kiss this one is slow and soft, but just as desperate. Makoto has never had lips pressed against his own, but he's kissed so many other parts of Haru before that it feels natural. Haru lets himself be stripped by Makoto and Rin's hands, lets himself be marked and touched and welcomed home with a pleased hum.

Rin's thumb traces Haru's cheek to his lower lip and Haru yields to his touch, opening his mouth to let Rin run his thumb over Haru's teeth, slipping over Haru's lip to wet it again. Makoto watches with a smile, because for the first time since Haru left there is no pain in Rin's features, only want and need and a soft touch of reverence.

They stay outside, even as the air begins to cool around them. Rin makes sure Haru smells like him again, completely and with no trace of strangers, before he allows Makoto to mingle his own scent onto Haru's skin, but Makoto doesn't mind the wait.

He watches as Rin puts his hands everywhere on Haru, slowly without any hint of rush, because he has the time. His fingers trace up Haru's side, making Haru tremble and somewhere between Rin kissing his way up Haru's spine and Haru spreading his legs wider so Rin can trace the inside of Haru's thighs with his nose Makoto begins to suspect that Rin is pushing until Haru will actually beg him.

Rin calls Makoto over and after pressing his lips to Makoto's, sweetly and with promises of more, he leaves Haru completely to Makoto's touch for a while. Instead he shift into his wolf and howls, possessively and so damn pleased with himself.

Somewhere from below them, in the heart of the Iwatobi territory, Mikoshiba answers with a howl of his own and Makoto smiles.

*************

Fin

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title taken from the song by Motörhead
> 
> I honestly could have kept writing this for a long time, but I figured I'd rather publish it so you would benefit from it as well.


	2. Interlude

Nagisa: “I have a question for you both.”

Makoto: “I'll answer.”

Haru: “I won't”

Nagisa: “Haru-chan!”

Makoto: “Haru! Just answer Nagisa's question...”

Haru: “Fine.”

Nagisa: “When was the first time you wanted to have sex with the other.”

Makoto: “Nagisa!”

Haru: “I was fourteen.”

Makoto: *alarmed* “Haru, don't tell him that.”

Haru: “You told me to answer.”

Makoto: …

Haru: “We were fourteen and Makoto was making mackerel.”

Nagisa: “Mackerel? Hehe, why am I not surprised?”

Makoto: “Fourteen, really? That's younger than I thought. It took three years before I presented after that, it must have been hard.”

Haru: “I didn't want to have sex with you all the time.”

Makoto: “Just when I was making mackerel?”

Haru: “Sometimes when we were swimming, sometimes when you smiled at me. Every time you took off your clothes to get ready for bed.”

Nagisa: “Poor Haru-chan must have been so lonely! What was your first time Makoto?”

Makoto: “When I presented.”

Nagisa: “No, after that.”

Makoto: “Eh, I think I'll save that for another time.”

 

See you next water time...

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is shameless Haru/Mako UST and I apologize to no one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is short, yes, but in my defence the actual story is complete. I will add two more short "add-on"-chapters to the first part, one or two to the second part and one more to the third part. 
> 
> I'll divide each chapter with a "See you next water time" chapter as a tease, which I know is completely unfair, because you'll think there's a new real chapter, but I actually enjoy making them, so... :)

The younger you are the easier it is to present. That's what they say.

It's an outright lie, Haruka knows this now. He must be the youngest to present in a decade and he still feels like his blood has been replaced with lava, feels like someone is trying to peal off his skin and sew it back on.

Then the pain shifts into intense, unexpected pleasure and Haru's first orgasm claws it's way through his body, leaving him shaking on the class room floor in his wolf form. He feels dizzy and unfocused and much too hot, but the wolf form blurs out any sense of shame, even as someone mock-whispers, “Jeez, what's the point in presenting this young if you're just an Omega?”

“The connection to his Alpha must be strong.” A girl – Aki – says and her voice is filled with concern. Haru tries to move his unfamiliar body and finds that his instincts makes it as easy as moving his human body. Another instinct tells him that someone is too close by his side and a rush of fear makes him snap out at the person kneeling next to him. All he finds are wide, green eyes blinking down at him

“It's okay Haru-chan. You're okay, I've got you.” Makoto's voice is like a balm and when Makoto's fingers dig into his thick fur it feels like when he was sick as a child and his mother cooled his fevered forehead with a cold cloth.

Haruka hopes Makoto will never stop touching him.

***************

 

Growing up, Makoto had always been the only one who could hold Haru's focus, but Rin had been the first to show Haru what it felt like to be a part of something bigger. They had become a close-knit group and Haru had accepted that the three of them belonged together.

The day Rin presented as alpha nothing had changed. Rin still felt like Rin, the bond between them no different than what Haru was used to and neither of them had the thought that Rin might be Haru's alpha, because Rin hadn't even been an alpha when Haru presented. They didn't know, couldn't imagine, that the reason why nothing had changed between them was because they had already been a pack in the making, long before any of them had presented. 

When Rin leaves Iwatobi everything breaks inside Haru. He feels the growing distance as a physical ache, a grip around his centre threatening to pull out his heart until Haru is empty. Makoto doesn't feel the same ache, but Haru knows it's simply because he can't. If Makoto had presented he would have belonged to Rin, too, would have felt the same desperation that Haru feels, Haru has no doubts.

But Makoto hadn't presented and with Rin gone he might never present, might never feel the pack bond.

Haru feels it clearly enough, though and the connection to Makoto is the only thing Haru can fixate on to fight though the loss of his alpha. Haru reminds himself that Makoto is still a child, mentally and officially, but it's not easy to keep his feelings for Makoto in check when Makoto is Haru's only source of comfort. It's not that Haru's thoughts are wildly inappropriate or even sexual. Mostly Haru is just craving Makoto's touch and closeness, the softness of his fingers and the sound of his voice. He spends the nights in Makoto's bed, shifted into his wolf form to dampen the human emotions. In his wolf form Haru can curl around Makoto, who digs his fingers deep into Haru's black fur and buries his face close to Haru's heart, loving Haru with all the innocence of a child. The problem is that Makoto doesn't stay a child forever - at least his body doesn't.

They're fourteen when Haru realizes the full extend of his dilemma.

“A man should know how to cook.” Makoto's mother tells them both as they join her in the kitchen. “No amount of masculine pride is going to feed you.” She boops Makoto's nose with a miso-covered finger and laughs at him when he goes cross-eyed. “You too, Haruka?” She asks, holding out her finger and when Haru goes wide-eyed she laughs again.

“Okay, okay.” She says and holds up her hands in surrender. “No miso.”

“Can we cook mackerel, too?” Makoto asks, wiping at his nose with the back of his hand and getting the miso paste everywhere. “Haru-chan loves mackerel.”

Makoto is adorable in his apron and a look of deep concentration on his face. Haru watches unabashedly as Makoto moves around the stove, watches his green eyes that always reflects his emotions so clearly. Makoto has very gentle eyes. Ninety nine percent of the time they are smiling like the rest of his face and mostly that smile is directed at Haru.

Haru has never been able to understand how Makoto, who's been taller and broader than his classmates since they were about twelve, can come off as seeming so gentle. He knows it's not just because Makoto hasn't presented yet, more like he doesn't know his own strength.

And Makoto is strong. Swimming has given him a body that a fourteen year old really shouldn't have and he's been growing a lot lately too. His shoulders are getting broader and he has the same defined chest Haru does, only wider. It's getting more and more obvious that Makoto's body has reached puberty and the other kids have noticed too. There's been a lot of mean whispers, but mostly they don't even bother lowering their voices. Haru can feel his cheeks grow hot every time he hears them. He knows Makoto is doing his best to distract him, to keep him from going over and picking a fight and mostly Haru humours him. 

“You're dreaming again, Haru-chan?” Makoto asks, peering down at him. He's holding a spoon in one hand and holding the other hand under to catch any drops and it takes a few seconds for Haru to realize that Makoto wants him to taste. He leans in and lets Makoto feed him the miso soup, raising his eyes to meet Makoto's. Makoto just smiles and right then Haru realises that he'll never be able to touch Makoto the way he wants to.

 

***************

Makoto continues to grow and Haru continues to want him, but then one day the pain starts.

Some nights the pain keeps them both awake as Makoto clutches his heart and sobs and Haru offers his fur and his wet wolf kisses. Some nights, when Makoto falls asleep, worn out from crying, Haru shifts to his human form. He stays in Makoto's arms, running his fingertips over Makoto's face, hands running over Makoto's broad back and down his spine. He tangles his fingers into Makoto's hair and leans in to press soft kisses to Makoto's shoulder.

They are all things he can't do when Makoto is awake, things he can't do when he's a wolf. But he wants to do them all the time. Instead he steals the touches when Makoto is asleep and he's not nearly honourable enough to feel bad about it.

************

One day Makoto comes home from the doctor and looks devastated.

“If we had known young Masuoka would present as an alpha we would never have let you get so attached.” Makoto's mother says. They're talking about Rin, of course. About the boy who left them years ago and somehow still manages to haunt them.

Makoto allows his mother to hug him, even if she can't reach around his broad shoulders anymore, and Haru feels a stab of jealousy. He knows Makoto loves his family, maybe not more than he loves Haru, but Haru knows Makoto will never be able to let them go. He spend too long being their child to turn his back on them, even if they're not in the same pack.

“I don't want to leave.” Makoto says that night as he sits down on his bed. “If Rin comes back, I mean. I'd do anything to make this pain go away, but what if it means I'd have to leave? I could never leave my family. I could never leave you, Haru-chan.”

"Don't worry about that.” Haru tells him.

"But Haru-"

"Rin is probably never coming back, so it won't matter who we belong to anyway." 

That night, as Makoto strips down for bed, things feel different. Makoto's movements are deliberate and careful and for once Haru doesn't feel like looking away. After that Makoto starts focusing on Haru a lot more. The way he strokes Haru's belly when Haru is in his wolf form and the way he caresses the soft fur on Haru's ears with his fingers and sometimes his lips. The way he starts sleeping in nothing but his briefs and the way he sometimes wraps his arms around human-Haru from behind, mostly when they're in the water, and allows Haru to lean back into him and enjoy the feel of the water _and_ Makoto. Haru accepts all of this as gifts from Makoto and he doesn't feel guilty about taking it or about how much he wants it.

That is, until he realizes that Makoto sometimes pretends to be asleep so Haru can touch him. It takes a while for Haru to notice, because his human hearing isn't as sharp and Makoto's heart doesn't speed up the way it would have if Haru's touches had been affecting Makoto the way they affect Haru.

“You can't do that.” Haru says and for the first time ever he raises his voice to Makoto, because even if he didn't feel bad about doing it, he definitely feels bad knowing that Makoto let him. “Why would you let anybody do that to you?”

“It wasn't just anybody.” Makoto argues. “It was you!”

“I don't understand you.” Haru says, feeling his heart pound with shame and fear and somehow also arousal.

“I know I can't be want you need,“ Makoto hesitates. “But if this is it, if this is all we get, then I want to at least try.”

Haru feels his face heat up, just thinking about Makoto giving himself over to him and even knowing that Makoto wouldn't find any pleasure in him doesn't stop Haru's teenage hormones from sending his blood on a detour.

“Just because I can't have you doesn't mean I can't be happy.” He says, sounding a lot more calm than he feels. “I don't care about getting off.”

“But you want me.” Makoto argues. “You get that look on your face, the one you have now, all flushed and your eyes are blank and dark.”

“I'm a teenage boy, Makoto.” Haru says. “You're not.”

It's mean and he knows it, knows it the moment the words leave his mouth and Makoto blushes. Ninty nine percent of the time Makoto is smiling, but when he isn't Haru feels like he's watching the world end.

*****************

For a while after that Haru sleeps in his own bed.

He jerks off while imagining Makoto's hands on him and he has enough actual memories to build on.

Sometimes he imagines Makoto wrapping his arms around him in the water. Makoto will lean in and kiss the shell of Haru's ear and take his earlobe between his teeth. Makoto's hands will roam down Haru's chest, confident and deliberate and reach Haru's hard cock. Makoto will wrap one hand around his shaft and the other around his balls and in his bed Haru touches himself the same way and shuts his eyes so he can see Makoto flushed and panting inside his head.

Other times they're in Haru's bath tub and Haru leans back into Makoto's chest as Makoto bites and kisses from his shoulder to his neck and up to Haru's jaw. Makoto will stroke Haru slowly and Haru mimics the movement and makes his hand splash in the surface of the water as he moves up and down. Haru imagines that he can feel Makoto's own cock pressing against his ass and Haru comes to the sound of his own moans and the memory of Makoto's strong arms around him.

*****************

A few weeks later a stroke takes Alpha Mikoshiba.

Haru's parents pack their things and begs Haru to come with them. Tokyo is a sanctuary and no one will look down on him there. No one will expect him to submit or treat him like less of a person just because he's an omega.

“Neither will Makoto.” Haru says and with those words they stop their pleading. He watches them leave, but oddly enough he doesn't feel like he's being left.

Makoto takes his hand and when Haru doesn't refuse the touch he lets go again to wrap an arm around Haru's shoulder and pulls him close.

“You're sleeping with me tonight, okay?” Makoto says quietly and his green eyes studies Haru's face. Haru nods and presses closer.

 


End file.
